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Asylum

For more than twenty years, PHR has been at the forefront of protecting the right to live in safety. The Asylum Program’s unique model provides direct service to asylum seekers, advocates for improved conditions in US immigration detention centers, and documents human rights abuses that immigrants suffer in their home countries and in US care.

Asylum Network: Proving Human Rights Abuses

Hundreds of volunteer health professionals in our Asylum Network have helped thousands of survivors of torture and other brutal forms of persecution gain asylum in the US by providing them with medical evaluations to prove they were victims of persecution.

Advocacy: Improving Conditions in US Detention Centers

PHR seeks to protect survivors of persecution by working with federal and state policymakers to elevate the quality and timeliness of health care provided in immigration detention centers, to reduce the overall use of immigration detention, and to eliminate arbitrary and unjustified barriers to attaining humanitarian protection in the US.

Documenting Human Rights Abuses

Asylum seekers face persecution in both their countries of origin and in immigration detention centers. Our goal is to discover those abuses, highlight them, and bring about justice and change.

Examining Asylum Seekers: A Health Professional's Guide to Medical and Psychological Evaluations of Torture

PHR’s manual provides medical professionals with the information necessary to conduct potentially life-saving evaluations. Includes an overview of political asylum law and procedure in the United States, an explanation of the physician's role in verifying signs and symptoms consistent with torture, and a review of components of appropriate written and oral medical testimony.

Fact sheets on Asylum

PHR has written several fact sheets on various aspects of asylum, asylum law, immigration detention, and more. These PDFs made for printing can be found here.

• News
• Blog
• Research

Burma Kachin churches in Hpakant take in 1,000 refugees since New Year (January 9, 2012)

Churches and Buddhist monasteries in the Hpakant (or Hpakan) jade mining area of Burma's northern Kachin State have taken in nearly 1,000 refugees since the beginning of the year. The huge increase in displaced people in the Hpakant area is a result of the ongoing Burmese army offensive against the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), according to sources on the ground.

Immigration 2011: Deportation, 'Administrative Amnesty,' Harsh State Laws (December 30, 2011)

PHR's Christy Fujio is quoted in US News and World Report's story on "Why 2011 may have presented a reason to hope for immigration reform."

Christmas Eve to be a Silent Night in Kachin State (December 23, 2011)

Burma’s ethnic Kachin community, which is 90 percent Christian, traditionally celebrates Christmas complete with decorations, caroling and church worship. But due to the ongoing armed hostilities in their region of northern Burma, this year’s holiday celebrations will range from low-key to non-existent.

Human Rights Groups File Lawsuit Against DOJ on Detention of Asylum Seekers (December 22, 2011)

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and eight partner organizations filed a lawsuit today against the US Department of Justice (DOJ) challenging its failure to issue regulations that would give immigration judges the authority to order the release of asylum seekers who are being held in immigration detention facilities.

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Register Now for PHR's Next Asylum Network Trainings (February 2, 2012)

Calling all health professionals! The Asylum Program at PHR will be hosting a basic training for health professionals interested in conducting physical and psychological evaluations for survivors of human rights abuses.

Free Conference: Forensic Evidence in the Fight Against Torture (February 1, 2012)

On February 15-16 stakeholders from around the world will gather in DC to participate in the “Forensic Evidence in the Fight Against Torture” conference, co-sponsored by the International Council for Torture Victims and American University Washington College of Law.

USCIS Releases Module Addressing LGBTI Refugee and Asylum Claims (January 31, 2012)

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) achieved a new milestone a few days ago when it released a newly-created training module, “Guidance for Adjudicating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Refugee and Asylum Claims.”

Gay Couple Spared Pain of Deportation Thanks to Prosecutorial Discretion (January 9, 2012)

When the Obama administration announced that it would encourage the use of prosecutorial discretion to determine which undocumented immigrants should be targeted for deportation, immigrants and advocates were cautiously optimistic. Now, as the first batch of cases to be considered for prosecutorial discretion are making their way through the system, both the benefits of the policy and the challenges to implementing it are coming into focus.

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PHR Applauds New Government Guidance on Sexual Orientation Asylum Claims (January 2012)

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) welcomes the release of a new training course for Asylum Officers charged with hearing claims from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex asylum applicants. Given the increasing volume of people who seek asylum in the US after facing persecution and torture in their home countries because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, this new training course is a sorely-needed resource for government officials who hold the fates of LGBTI asylum applicants in their hands.

New Medical Neutrality Exemption to “Material Support” Bar to Asylum is Applauded (November 2011)

PHR commends Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano’s decision to create an exemption to the “material support” bar for health professionals who have provided medical assistance to wounded combatants. The decision is a major victory for health professionals who were forced to provide health care to alleged terrorists during armed conflict. Previously, medical professionals forced to provide care to members of terrorist organizations, some under the threat of torture or death, were denied asylum in the US.

From Persecution to Prison (June 2003)

The practice of imprisoning asylum seekers who flee to America to escape torture, abuse, and persecution in their own countries has damaging effects on the well-being of these individuals. Detention can induce fear, isolation, and hopelessness, and exacerbate the severe psychological distress frequently exhibited by asylum seekers who are already traumatized.

Punishment Before Justice: Indefinite Detention in the US (June 2011)

The United States government’s reliance on indefinite detention in both national security and immigration contexts reflects an abdication of its legal and moral responsibility to treat those in its custody humanely, as well as an abdication of its responsibility to protect its military and civilians from retaliation on account of its continued refusal to honor the rule of law.

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Current Work

Dual Loyalties in US Immigration Detention

Health professionals working in the immigration detention system are bound by the same standards of conduct that apply to their treatment of patients in private clinics and hospitals: to treat their duty to patient as their first priority and to always act in the best interests of the patient. However, health professionals’ ability to do this becomes severely compromised when the interests of their employer intrude upon or directly conflict with the needs of patients. Read More »

Related Profiles

Coleen Kivlahan MD, MSPH

Dr. Kivlahan is a long-time family medicine practitioner, and an Asylum Network volunteer and trainer. She also provides child sexual and physical abuse evaluations, and rape evaluations for women of all ages. Read More »